


(Lights Flicker) When I See You

by Ebonyheart



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (maybe?) - Freeform, 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, As a tired POC myself I salute you gentlemen, Fluff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Light Angst, M/M, Oh and Also, Phil Coulson Has the Patience of a Saint, Rhodey and Wong are stronger still but they also have to be around them more often so, Slow Burn, Stephen Strange Gets a Hug, Stephen Strange Needs a Hug, That is a lie actually bc the author has a shit ton of WIPs giving them side eye, The Author Regrets Nothing, They’re two tired POC just trying to keep their white boys alive and minimally fucked up, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, hey why is that last one not a tag already? like guys. come on. he’s been through some shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 09:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17363468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebonyheart/pseuds/Ebonyheart
Summary: The funny thing about people is that no two are exactly alike or complimentary, but sometimes their edges will mesh. In moments where they might waver, they’ll flicker like candle flames in the wind and relight each other’s fire. It’s never quite perfect, but it always makes them want to be more of themselves.





	(Lights Flicker) When I See You

**Author's Note:**

> Necessary background knowledge for this AU:
> 
> -Stephen did surgery on a grape  
> -The grape did not survive the procedure  
> -No one important, aka literally everyone else, was harmed in the making of this fic  
> -Nebula happily mixed the grape’s ashes into manure and has a space vineyard of much nicer grapes now that don’t fuck up children and call it parenting  
> -Gamora* got the first bottle of wine  
> -Both Peters made a cheese joke  
> -Quill got a kiss on the lips  
> -Parker got a kiss on the cheek  
> -Both Peters looked like lobsters after that
> 
> *The soul stone wanted to take the time to fuck w/ someone who didn’t learn a thing from Undertale and thought that abuse = “Love” so it just knocked her out

1.

Snow crunched under sensible boots, and the streets of New York were quiet as he walked to the church.

“Evening Stark,” Father Lantom called, “‘Was just making a latte for myself and a few friends. Would you-“

“Thank you Father, I’m alright for now.” Gloves, scarf and coat neatly discarded on an empty pew, Tony almost smiled at the acoustics. He would have financed it anyway, but the new shelter and soup kitchen were worth getting to use the church when it was empty. It wasn’t often that he came but, when the season was hard on him, Tony would sing his mother’s favorite carols and feel a little closer to her.

Their family wouldn’t be caught dead in such a small church, if Howard had his way, but who pays attention to every plainly dressed mother and child tired of pomp and circumstance? So far, he’d only brought Peter with him once- God, his voice used to be that high too- but it was almost too much. It was special, worth it even, but still very, very raw.

Clearing his throat, Tony batted away one set of memories to pull up another. The words were still easy as falling asleep, Latin a third tongue he’d learned for fun.

“Veni, Veni Emmanuel, Captivum solve Israel,” he sang softly, eyes closed as he walked the isle, “Qui gemit in exilio, Privatus Dei Filio.”

The words reverberated beautifully, which was part of what Maria loved about this place. She’d sworn up and down it sounded better here than some opera houses before dragging him to several to prove her point.

“Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel, Nascetur pro te, Isra- Ah!”

As he finished the refrain, Tony tripped, nearly cursing up a storm as he caught himself on the organ. Righting the seat, Tony sat down on a whim (and not because his foot hurt like Fury’s favorite catchphrase).

(Nope, not one bit.)

Since he was already sitting there though, he eyed the instrument with curiosity. As a teen, he’d only taken piano lessons for a few weeks from a teacher he’d paid secretly to surprise his mom. Even then, his accompaniment had been terrible, and it’d been a few years since he’d so much as touched an instrument that wasn’t on a touch screen, never mind “played,” but...

Right now, this felt right.

He was already sad and sentimental, with an emphasis on “mental,” so why not add a little more of both? Lantom would ask him to stop his instrumental impression of a murderous cat if it was really that terrible.

Running his fingers over the keys, Tony felt as if something gently attached even as his sense of self grew slightly distant. As he took a breath to support the music, his hands took positions he didn’t quite recognize that felt like a reverb of their own as one foot moved to the pedal, and he played.

“Veni, Clavis Davidica, Regna reclude celia,” he mouthed along, eyes closed as he thought back. The one time he’d had accompaniment on the organ, Ana and Edwin had come with them and played the duet. It was beautiful, and even Howard being furious that the four of them gathered a crowd wasn’t enough to tarnish the memory. As the verse ended, Tony sang the refrain in English for once, loud and strong.

“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

The notes rang out, and he smiled, finally noticing the tears as one fell onto the keys. Happy but still overwhelmed, he put on his discarded layers before exiting the building in a daze.

If he’d stayed a little longer, he might have run into the sorcerer who had been checking in on Father Lantom and a certain devil. He’d been in the other room, still bitter that his hands wouldn’t cooperate with playing the organ anymore, but happy that his fiddling with the coffee machine had actually made the damn thing work when the priest had been about to read it its last rites. For once, he’d taken the man up on having a cup while the music played, and he was pleasantly surprised to not be immediately regretting his life choices.

Picking up the scarf (which Tony would only realize he’d left about halfway home), Stephen smiled without knowing why. He put it in the lost and found, hoping it and its owner would get home safely.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everybody! I’m Ebonyheartnet on Tumblr, so come yell with me there to help motivate me for this fic! I really wanna get it done, but I need help! ^^’ ADHD is a bitch and a half, so cheerleaders make some noise!
> 
> Special thanks to thequeercellist for getting the ball rolling with this prompt, as well as these other folks on Tumblr for their head canons making this fic possible:
> 
> -incorrect-ironstrange  
> -okay-stark  
> -stephy-supreme
> 
> Extra special thanks to maacomics and okay-stark for betaing! You are both angels, and you deserve the world!


End file.
